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London Climate Change Protesters Glue Themselves To Subway Cars, Nearly 300 Arrested

The Guardian Youtube video screenshot

Matt M. Miller Contributor
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Climate change protesters in London alarmed some morning commuters Wednesday by reportedly climbing subway cars and gluing their hands to them, among other bizarre acts of protest. Police have made nearly 300 arrests in connection to the activists’ multi-day protest so far.

The protesters call themselves “Extinction Rebellion”, and are part of an international group of climate change activists committed to “showing the world” they “will not idly stand by while the earth burns” according to the official website. The same group was responsible for a naked protest in British Parliament earlier this month in which they demanded that the British government commit to cutting national carbon emissions to zero over the course of the next six years.

The protesters have been clashing with police since Monday as a result of the group’s International Rebellion Week that started April 15. As of Wednesday, 290 activists have been arrested, according to BBC. The latest demonstration involved several members of the group climbing subway cars on the Docklands Light Railway and gluing their hands to them, causing train delays and road closures in the Central London area for hours while authorities addressed the situation. (RELATED: 2018 Saw A Global Revolt Against Climate Change Policies)

A Twitter account connected to the group posted several images of the havoc caused by the protest Wednesday morning.

 

Recent reports say that four activists connected to the group have glued themselves together in front of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s home, demanding that the Labour Party take an even more severe stance against climate change.

Superintendent Matt Allingham responded to the demonstrations on public transportation saying, “We will not tolerate any activity which disrupts the millions of passengers who rely on using the rail network in London.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted a statement responding to the protest, saying that while he agrees with the environmentalist cause and believes in the right to peacefully protest, he finds the methods employed by Extinction Rebellion dangerous and contrary to the cause of environmentalism since people taking public transport instead of cars would drastically reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact. (RELATED: Smashing Glass Doors, Gluing Themselves To Benches: Thousands Of Green Protesters Take To The Streets Of London)

“It is absolutely crucial to get more people using public transport, as well as walking and cycling, if we are to tackle this climate emergency – and millions of Londoners depend on the Underground network to get about their daily lives in our city,” he wrote. “Targeting public transport in this way would only damage the cause of all of us who want to tackle climate change.”

Farhana Yamin, a protester who was arrested on Tuesday, told the BBC that she would like to apologize to commuters who were affected by the protest, but then attempted to justify the actions of Extinction Rebellion regardless.

“I totally want to apologize to people using public transport. But at the same time we need to take actions that are disruptive so everyone understands the dangers we’re facing right now,” she explained. “I’m not someone who goes out on to the streets and disrupts and gets arrested for no reason at all. But I feel people should understand that we are at a critical moment in our humanity’s history.”